Chapter 1506: The True Purpose of the Netherworld Spider

Fang Mu reacted swiftly, as swirling black mist erupted from his body, transforming into a gleaming black battle armor that enveloped him completely.

With a muffled thud, the golden spider silk struck the black armor, then swiftly coiled around Fang Mu, binding him completely and rendering him immobile.

He quickly opened his mouth and spat out a stream of ink-black flames, which struck the golden spider silk, yet left it perfectly intact.

A golden flame then shot from the silk, reaching Fang Mu in an instant.

The golden flame collided with the black, unleashing a powerful shockwave. In less than three breaths, the black flame rapidly receded, clearly no match for its golden counterpart.

Fang Mu was stunned. What he had unleashed was not mere spiritual fire, but the Yin Corpse True Flame, a power he had cultivated for centuries and previously used to slay Rank-Four demonic beasts. How could it be defeated by the mutated Netherworld Spider's demon fire?

As the golden flame advanced along the silk, Fang Mu's body crackled with the sound of shifting bones. Countless black spiritual runes appeared, and his physique swelled to more than twice its original size, his veins bulging and blood vessels clearly visible beneath his skin. Yet, it was all in vain. The golden spider silk remained unharmed, tightening its grip and leaving terrifying bloody welts across his body.

Just then, a streak of azure light shot forward, instantly severing the golden spider silk and freeing Fang Mu.

The mutated Netherworld Spider let out a sharp, furious shriek and lunged at Wang Qingshan. Simultaneously, two other mutated Netherworld Spiders each spewed forth dense black silk. As the black strands shot through the air with a piercing shriek, they resembled countless sharp black swords, flying towards Wang Qingshan.

Wang Qingshan formed a sword incantation, and the streak of azure light swiftly returned, hovering above his head.

With a flash of azure light, the streak transformed into an azure lotus flower over ten zhang in size. After a gentle spin, countless azure petals shot forth, morphing into incredibly sharp azure sword energies that cleaved towards the black spider silk.

A deafening roar erupted as the azure sword energies completely severed all the black spider silk.

A golden spider web then descended from the sky, enveloping the giant lotus and Wang Qingshan. It rapidly constricted, and though the azure sword energies from the lotus struck the golden web with a clanging metallic sound, the web remained perfectly intact.

A stream of golden flame swept along the spider silk, reaching Wang Qingshan's front in an instant.

Wang Qingshan opened his mouth and spewed out a stream of azure flame, sending it along the golden silk to meet the incoming attack.

The azure and golden flames clashed; the golden flame was instantly consumed by the azure. The golden spider silk rapidly broke apart, and Wang Qingshan reached out, grabbing the golden spider web and tearing it down.

The golden spider web shimmered with golden light, appearing as if forged from pure gold.

The silk spun by Netherworld Spiders is inherently a material used in artifact crafting. The silk from these mutated Netherworld Spiders, however, was incredibly sharp and resistant to damage from magical artifacts. Wang Qingshan carefully collected the golden spider web.

He formed a sword incantation, and the giant lotus instantly blazed with dazzling azure light, speeding directly towards the mutated Netherworld Spider.

The Netherworld Spider was both startled and enraged. Its attacks had failed to harm Wang Qingshan, and it dared not face him head-on.

As the azure lotus approached, the Netherworld Spider slashed its scythe-like claws at it.

With muffled clangs, sparks flew, and the Netherworld Spider was sent flying backward.

A dark light flared in the void, revealing a black ghostly hand, over ten zhang in size. Its ink-black, sharp fingernails extended, reaching downwards towards the Netherworld Spider like a hand plucking the moon from the depths.

With a muffled thud, the black ghostly hand seized the Netherworld Spider. It struggled violently, but to no avail.

Wang Qingshan was instantly delighted, and was about to activate a sword incantation to use his sword formation to eliminate the beast, when Fang Mu's urgent voice suddenly rang out: "Fellow Daoist Wang, stop! Don't destroy its body; I need it to refine into a zombie!"

As his words faded, a series of shrill ghost cries erupted, and a dark light flared above the Netherworld Spider, revealing a small, exquisite black pagoda. Dozens of grotesque skull heads were carved into its surface. Following the cries, the black pagoda instantly expanded to over a hundred zhang in height, shimmering with spiritual light.

The surface of the colossal black pagoda was covered with numerous black skull heads, which seemed to come alive, emitting a series of shrill wails.

With a flash of dark light, dozens of black skull heads opened their mouths, spewing forth countless dense black threads that entangled the mutated Rank-Four Netherworld Spider. Despite its violent struggles, it was in vain. The colossal black pagoda then shot out a stream of black radiant mist, drawing the spider inside itself.

Fang Mu's face lit up with joy. With a wave of his hand, the colossal black pagoda rapidly shrank, flying back into his sleeve and vanishing from sight.

A tremendous roar, shaking heaven and earth, erupted as the defensive formation shattered. Over half of the city wall collapsed amidst clouds of dust. Hordes of Netherworld Spiders swarmed into the vast city, and while the cultivators frantically attacked them, it was all to no avail.

Wang Yingjie emerged from the broken walls and rubble, dusty and looking somewhat disheveled.

The sheer number of Netherworld Spiders was overwhelming; most of the Wang family's puppet beasts were destroyed. Five Rank-Four Netherworld Spiders collaborated, breaking the formation and charging deeper into the city.

The air roared as black nets descended from the sky, ensnaring the cultivators.

Before Wang Yingjie could react, a black net descended from the sky, enveloping his entire body. He deployed his magical artifact to attack the black spider web, but it was useless. The web was covered in a sticky black liquid that, once touched, made it incredibly difficult to break free.

Terrified, Wang Yingjie pulled out a gleaming red pair of scissors and infused them with spiritual power, attempting to cut through the spider web. Yet, it was useless; the web seemed forged from copper walls and iron barriers, and the red scissors couldn't even make a dent in it.

The black spider web rapidly moved towards a gigantic Netherworld Spider, leaving Wang Yingjie burning with anxiety but powerless to stop it.

Hundreds of cultivators were caught by the Netherworld Spiders in their webs. Strangely, the spiders didn't kill them; instead, they captured them and then retreated back to the Ten Thousand Puppet Mountains, with other Netherworld Spiders providing cover.

Rank-Three Netherworld Spiders targeted Core Formation cultivators, while Rank-Two Netherworld Spiders captured Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Wang Yingjie was dragged across the ground, rapidly moving as the black spider web pulled him along.

Wang Jiyun controlled his flying sword to hack at the black spider web, producing a series of muffled clanging sounds.

Chen Xudong deployed a gleaming red talisman, which landed on the spider web and erupted into rolling flames, engulfing it completely. However, the flames soon dissipated, leaving the spider web perfectly intact.

The spider web was impervious to weapons, water, and fire, making it extremely difficult to counter.

"Ancestor, save me! Ancestor, save me!"

Wang Yingjie cried out desperately; at this moment, only Wang Qingshan could save him.

As his words faded, a streak of azure light descended from the sky, swiftly cutting through the golden spider silk. The silk instantly broke, and Wang Yingjie let out a long sigh of relief, drenched in cold sweat from sheer terror.

"Be careful," Wang Qingshan's voice echoed in Wang Yingjie's ear. "The Netherworld Spiders seem to be aiming to capture cultivators alive."

Wang Yingjie acknowledged this and rose to his feet, scattering over a dozen shimmering azure seeds around him onto the ground.

With a flash of azure light, the seeds immediately rooted and sprouted upon contact with the ground, swiftly growing into thick azure thorns that encircled his body. When the black spider web fell onto these thorns, Wang Yingjie remained unharmed.

He let out a long sigh of relief, then glanced at the other cultivators, his brows deeply furrowed.

The Netherworld Spiders had captured hundreds of cultivators, and as soon as they succeeded, they retreated back to the Ten Thousand Puppet Mountains, with the other spiders cooperating to cover their escape.